2023 Wisconsin
7–6 (5–4 Big Ten), coached by Luke Fickell. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Buffalo 38–17Sep 2
By 21 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to No. 13 LSU 31–35Jan 1
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs Buffalo | W 38–17 | 68% |
| Sep 9 | at Washington State | L 22–31 | 46% |
| Sep 16 | vs Georgia Southern | W 35–14 | 65% |
| Sep 22 | at Purdue | W 38–17 | 52% |
| Oct 7 | vs Rutgers | W 24–13 | 73% |
| Oct 14 | vs Iowa | L 6–15 | 54% |
| Oct 21 | at Illinois | W 25–21 | 58% |
| Oct 28 | vs 3Ohio State | L 10–24 | 32% |
| Nov 4 | at Indiana | L 14–20 | 71% |
| Nov 11 | vs Northwestern | L 10–24 | 76% |
| Nov 18 | vs Nebraska | W 24–17 | 60% |
| Nov 25 | at Minnesota | W 28–14 | 41% |
| Jan 1Bowls & playoff | vs 13LSUReliaQuest Bowl | L 31–35 | 31% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to LSU 35–31 in the ReliaQuest Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The tied 69th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 19
- Wk 2: 19
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 5–4 tied for 5th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 19
- Points
- 305–262
- Coach
- Luke Fickell
- Elo
- 1550 −4 this season
- SP+ rating
- 9.4 No. 29 of 133; offense No. 86, defense No. 7, special teams No. 26
- SRS
- 4.4 No. 45 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 57% of last season’s EPA, No. 58 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 58 roster talent No. 30 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Phil Longo
- Defensive coordinators
- Mike Tressel and Colin Hitschler
- Captains
- Chimere Dike, Tanner Mordecai, Maema Njongmeta and Marty Strey
- Offense
- Air raid
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.09 | 44% | 1.08 | 70th of 133 |
| Defense | 0.05 | 41% | 1.18 | 35th of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.10 off 0.07 def | 44% off 41% def | — | 69th off 43rd def |
How these are measured
Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.9 | own 29 | 15% allowed |
| Defense | 3.2 | own 28 | 17% caused |
CORE rating 2.4, 50th of 133 (offense -0.7, defense -3.2).
A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.
Leaders
| Passing yards | Tanner Mordecai QB | 2,065 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Tanner Mordecai QB | 9 TD |
| Rushing yards | Braelon Allen RB | 984 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Braelon Allen RB | 12 TD |
| Receiving yards | Will Pauling WR | 837 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Will Pauling WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | Hunter Wohler S | 120 tkl |
| Sacks | Darryl Peterson LB | 4.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Ricardo Hallman CB | 7 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Braedyn Moore ATH | ★★★★ | No. 322 |
| James Durand OL | ★★★★ | No. 353 |
| Amare Snowden CB | ★★★★ | No. 447 |
| Trech Kekahuna WR | ★★★ | No. 488 |
| Jonas Duclona CB | ★★★ | No. 655 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.863 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.876 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.868 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.829 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.862 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.3 | 0.878 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.5 | 0.884 |
| Whole class | 16 | 3.1 | 0.866 |
High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.
Drafted in 2024
The 2024 draft| Rd 4 | Tanor Bortolini C | Indianapolis Colts |
| Rd 4 | Braelon Allen RB | New York Jets |
Roster 122
The 2023 roster122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 14
The 2023 portal Tanner Mordecai QB | ★★★★ | from  SMU |
 C.J. Williams WR | ★★★★ | from  USC |
 Darian Varner DL | ★★★ | from  Temple |
 Nick Evers QB | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
 Braedyn Locke QB | ★★★ | from  Mississippi State |
 Bryson Green WR | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma State |
 Jake Renfro OL | ★★★ | from  Cincinnati |
 Joe Huber OT | ★★★ | from Cincinnati |
 Jason Maitre S | ★★★ | from  Boston College |
 Jeff Pietrowski DE | ★★★ | from  Michigan State |
| Nyzier Fourqurean CB | ★★★ | from Grand Valley State |
| Quincy Burroughs WR | ★★★ | from Cincinnati |
And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 19
 Graham Mertz QB | ★★★★ | to  Florida |
 Logan Brown OT | ★★★ | to  Kansas |
| Isaac Guerendo RB | ★★★ | to  Louisville |
| Markus Allen WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Semar Melvin CB | ★★★ | to Michigan State |
| Tristan Monday DL | ★★★ | to  Arizona State |
| Deacon Hill QB | ★★★ | to  Iowa |
| Jaylan Franklin TE | ★★★ | to Michigan State |
| Spencer Lytle LB | ★★★★ | no new school on file |
| A’Khoury Lyde CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Al Ashford CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Avyonne Jones CB | ★★★ | to  Coastal Carolina |
And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big Ten
2 second teamSecond team
- Braelon AllenRBCoaches-3; Media-2
Hunter WohlerDBCoaches-3; Media-2
From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2023 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Michigan | 9–0 | 15–0 | 1 |
| Ohio State | 8–1 | 11–2 | 10 |
 Penn State | 7–2 | 10–3 | 13 |
| Iowa | 7–2 | 10–4 | 24 |
| Northwestern | 5–4 | 8–5 | |
| Wisconsin | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
 Maryland | 4–5 | 8–5 | |
| Rutgers | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
| Minnesota | 3–6 | 6–7 | |
| Illinois | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Nebraska | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Purdue | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
| Michigan State | 2–7 | 4–8 | |
| Indiana | 1–8 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.